All posts by Lin Young

Lin Young is a PhD candidate in the English Department at Queen’s University by day, an insatiable theatre-goer by night. She truly loves seeing innovative indie theatre, the strange sort of hole-in-the-wall shows that big companies would never take a risk on. She’s seen plays in basements, gardens, bars, and in old dilapidated houses, to name a few. She’s always on the lookout for the next theatrical experiment in the city, and loves seeing shows that have some quality of fantasy, historicity, or strangeness to them – especially if they involve puppets! She tweets about theatre, comics and the 19th century at @linkeepsitreal.

Uncle Tommy’s Campfire Ghost Stories (For Grown-Ups) – Toronto 2015 Fringe Press Release

“[A]n after-dark, NSFW twist on the tradition of getting around the fire and getting scared!”

image03ut

Excerpt from press release:

Join your Uncle Tommy under the stars and by the light of the “fire” (‘cuz you sure don’t wanna be near him in the dark). All the nostalgic thrills of sitting round the campfire with friends, telling scary stories & eating burnt things on sticks. Except told by some sketchy dude in a backyard in Kensington Market.

Uncle Tommy’s Campfire Ghost Stories (for Grown-Ups) is an after-dark, NSFW twist on the tradition of getting around the fire and getting scared. An outdoor, site-specific one-man Fringe show, taking place in the backyard of FIKA Café in Kensington Market. Audience members are invited to pull up a blanket or log and join Uncle Tommy on a dark and twisted journey with his collection of inappropriate tales. Audience members are also invited to NOT feed/touch/ share needles with Uncle Tommy. The venue, FIKA Cafe, will be selling campfire inspired goodies and refreshing beverages to enjoy during the show for a full campfire experience.

Writer/Performer Tommy Taylor’s previous award-winning one-man show had him touring across Canada telling a different kind of scary story- The 2013 national tour of You Should Have Stayed Home: A G20 Romp! detailed Taylor’s arrest and detention at the infamous Toronto G20 Summit. “I thought this year I’d tell a different kind of scary story. More spooky ghosts, less horrific accounts of human rights abuses.” said Taylor.

Showtimes:

July 01 at 10:00 PM
July 02 at 10:00 PM
July 03 at 11:00 PM
July 04 at 11:00 PM
July 05 at 10:00 PM
July 07 at 10:00 PM
July 08 at 10:00 PM
July 09 at 10:00 PM
July 10 at 11:00 PM
July 11 at 11:00 PM
July 12 at 10:00 PM

Venue: 
Site-specific (in the backyard of 
FIKA 
Café
 in 
Kensington
Market)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

Adventures of a Supervet Tech – Toronto Fringe 2015 Press Release

1 Comment

“Secrets of the Veterinary World Revealed!”

dsc00266_-_version_2

Excerpt from press release:

How do you get a semen sample from a Pomeranian? Sandra Lean-Leighton takes you through the back door of your local vet clinic. With true stories, she introduces you to feisty pet owners, quirky vets and loveable animals – and the veterinary technicians who look after them all.
Through the eyes of her caped alter-ego, SuperVet Tech, Sandra pays tribute to the unsung heroes of the veterinary world. “Vet techs are nurses for animals,” she says, “but so much more. We do x-rays, medications, lab analysis, small surgeries, owner counselling, you name it. The problem is no one knows who we are or what we do. I intend to change that.”
Combining her careers as a professional actor and a Registered Veterinary Technician, Sandra delights both theatre buffs and animal lovers alike. Her audiences are treated to original music and video, dramatic monologues, and hilarious scenarios. This ground-breaking show is a first for the veterinary world and is not to be missed!

Showtimes:

July 1 10:30 p.m.
July 3 5:15 p.m.
July 4 11:00 p.m.
July 5 5:15 p.m.
July 7 4:45 p.m.
July 10 7:30 p.m.
July 12 2:15 p.m.

Venue: Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave.)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

Waiting in Line – 2015 Toronto Fringe Press Release

“[A] fast paced social commentary on the ‘social welfare culture’ that has been created in Ireland”

11054363_526463234160507_3966732637962604437_n

Excerpt from press release:

Presented by Honest Arts Production Company, ‘Waiting in Line’ is a fast paced social commentary on the ‘social welfare culture’ that has been created in Ireland over the past twenty five years.

Performed by Pius McGrath, Eva O Connor and Johanna O’ Brien. Directed by Tara Doolan. Honest Arts Production Company combines Artistry and the latest in 3D mapping technology in this fast paced, thought provoking, physical theatre piece. Nominated for Best Set Design at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2015.
Honest Arts toured to EdFringe in 2013 with ‘The Mid-Knight Cowboy’ which received rave reviews and was also performed on Broadway NYC.
‘The Mid-Knight Cowboy’ The Scotsman – “…..McGrath is a talented performer, shifting through the generations with little more than subtle adjustments of speech and body language.” Please note this show is suitable for audiences 14+
“Our purpose is to tell original contemporary Irish stories with a universal message. It is important to showcase ‘Waiting in Line’ so that we can contiune to lead the way in these technological developments in theatre and showcase our modern creative capabilities and culture.”

Showtimes:

July 02 at 06:30 PM
July 05 at 07:00 PM
July 06 at 05:00 PM
July 08 at 11:00 PM
July 09 at 11:00 PM
July 10 at 02:15 PM
July 12 at 05:15 PM

Venue: The Factory Mainspace

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

The Inventor of All Things – 2015 Toronto Fringe Press Release

“A storytelling piece. About forgotten Hungarian Physicist Leo Szilard”

jem_rolls

Excerpt from press release:

Leo Szilard…

First to think of the Atomic Bomb.
For five years the chain reaction was in his head alone.
He was the driving force towards the Manhattan Project.
He blackmailed the White House into secrecy, thus keeping key facts from Berlin
And he then did the most to stop the bomb being used.
So he was ruthlessly pushed out of Physics by an anti-Semitic General.
Who’s decades’ long loathing is the chief reason this amazing and very funny man is almost forgotten.
A Fringe show unlike any other.
A step into the unknown.
A big story of huge historical reach.
A real deal with a devil?
And a comedy, which is true, and ends in Hiroshima?
How do you sell a show about a man no-one has ever heard of?
How Fringey is the Fringe? Not as Fringey as everyone think it is. But how Fringey? Lets find out.
Refugee, genius, joker, sole survivor of his regiment, eccentric, name-dropper, Martian, Einsteinian sidekick, eventual spouse. 

Pompous, self-indulgent, indefatigable. Wouldn’t give up. Or shut up.
Instigator of charities, Washington Lobbies, Manhattan Projects, nuclear secrecy.
Jem Rolls harnesses the narrative power. Of a story. Where a man. A very unusual man. Has in his head. For years. Only his head. The scariest idea. Any human being has ever had.
Told in five narrative slices. Taking us through the key years of 33-45. With many extraneous details to convey the range, humour and times of this extraordinary man.
Extensively researched. In Budapest, Oxford and more.
This show makes a number of seemingly original and contentious statements. Like “The Three Great Lies of General Groves”. Or “Szilard as Number One Nazi Bomb Stopper”. Etc.
Yet these are in the sources, chiefly the two best books: Richard Rhodes, The Making Of The Atomic Bomb; Bill Lanouette, Genius In The Shadows.
Only no-one has put them together and bigged them up in this fashion.

Showtimes:

Wednesday, July 1, 2015 – 10:30pm
Friday, July 3, 2015 – 3:00pm
Monday, July 6, 2015 – 8:00pm
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 – 3:00pm
Thursday, July 9, 2015 – 7:30pm
Friday, July 10, 2015 – 8:45pm
Sunday, July 12, 2015 – 12:00pm

Venue:  Tarragon Theatre Mainspace

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

Lust & Marriage – 2015 Toronto Fringe Press Release

“Who said marriage has to be boring? From the creator of GGG: Dominatrix 4 Dummies and Inviting Desire comes a sex-positive comedy that explodes the conundrums of couple-hood”

dancenaked.lust_marriage.eleanorobrien.apple2_

Excerpt from press release:

Emily is a hopelessly romantic ethical slut in search of a soul mate. When a Burning Man fling turns out to be the love of her life, she thinks she’s found her happy ending. But her paramour doesn’t pine for monogamy. What’s a Pollyanna to do? Can polyamory save their romance? A runaway hit of the Portland, OR Solo Festival in 2014, Lust & Marriage is an honest and intimate comedy that explores the complexities of relationship, and what happens when two become three.

Eleanor O’Brien is the artistic director of Dance Naked Productions, a Portland, OR based company known for provocative, sex-positive theater. Inspired by renown Fringe monologist TJ Dawe, O’Brien created the smash hit GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies (*****Edmonton Sun) after discovering the fringe while touring a kid’s show. She returned again with the ensemble production Inviting Desire, and is back this year as a CAFF winner with Lust & Marriage. O’Brien wrote and performs the allegorical story, and has collaborated with director Antonio Sonera and dramaturge TJ Dawe.

“I have long been fascinated by the work of sex advice columnist Dan Savage, and his influence on sexuality in popular culture,” says O’Brien. “I was inspired to create Lust & Marriage after Dan put out a call for stories from the ‘successfully monogamish’. (Savage has given the script his blessing and recorded his voice for use in the show). “Having tried both monogamy and polyamory, I use a lot of my own material. Turns out, there’s quite a bit of comedy in opening a marriage. Ultimately, it’s a love story, with a healthy dose of lust”.

As a CAFF winner, Lust & Marriage will tour throughout the summer of 2015 to Montréal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Vancouver, BC, as well as nightly performances at Burning Man.

Showtimes:

Wed July 1 @ 10PM
Fri July 3 @ 3PM
Sun July 5 @ 8PM
Mon July 6 @ 1PM
Tue July 7 @ 8:15PM
Thu July 9 @ 2PM
Fri July 10 @ 7PM

Venue:  The Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (79 St George St)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by Lloyd Lemmerman.